Who to Watch (November 16 – November 22)

Credit: Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images North America

What a week, huh? Jimmy Butler is traded. Melo is sent to Siberia. Draymond calls KD a bitch and to GTFO. We love the NBA around here.

There was intrigue with the NFL too. Brady looks… human. The game of the year needs to move from Mexico City to Los Angeles (have you guys SEEN that field!? Horrible). Le’Veon Bell will not come back this season, at which point his teammates decided to take his stuff (finders keepers, right?)

As fascinating as the off the field/court news is, we’ll keep on how the players are playing. Lets see what Fredy, Andy, Kerm, and Nick are thinking…

OH! And an EARLY Happy Thanksgiving from us here at the Hold My Drink Sports team!

Doing Good

Fredy: Luka Dončić

Credit: Christian Petersen/Getty Images North America

The rookie has been tearing it up his first 14 games of his NBA career. I’m glad too since he was my preseason pick for Rookie of the Year. This past week, he is averaging 15.3 PPG, 6 RPG, and 4.3 APG. The Mavs are on a 3-game winning streak, playing formidable opponents in OKC, Chicago, and Utah. After a 6-game losing streak, the Mavs are looking good giving Dončić the keys, even though they’re dragging the bones Dirk Nowitzki. He even helped them get a 50 point win against a quality Utah team.

When to Watch:

Golden State Warrios vs. Dallas Mavericks (11/17; 8:30 PM)

Dallas Mavericks vs. Memphis Grizzlies (11/19; 8:00 PM)

Brooklyn Nets vs. Dallas Mavericks (11/21; 8:30 PM)

Andy: Patrick Mahomes II

Credit: David Eulitt/Getty Images North America

Patrick “The Frog” Mahomes has either thrown or rushed for multiple touchdowns in every game this season but one and that was a game against Jacksonville where he threw for 300+ yards and rushed for 1 touchdown. There is no stopping Mr. Mahomes who is on pace to very well break the single season TD record of 55, made by Peyton Manning. That is good company to be a part of. This week’s matchup, possibly the matchup we will see for Super Bowl 53, is against the 9-1 Rams on Monday Night Football. EVERYONE MUST WATCH THIS GAME. YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.

When to Watch:

Kansas City Chiefs vs. Los Angeles Rams (11/19; 8:15 PM)

Kerm: De’Aaron Fox

Credit: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images North America

De’Aaron Fox has taken me by surprise this season to say the least. Speed kills, but in a vacuum it does nothing. Fox’s rookie season where he averaged 12 points and 4 assists on 41% shooting shows that. Not bad stats for a rookie year, but the King’s record last season would say otherwise. In his second season Fox is averaging 18 points and 7 assists while shooting over 50%. Now that he’s developed his offensive skills even more, his speed is just that more deadly. We’re witnessing an elite point guard in the making; hopefully the Kings don’t fall back to Earth.

When to Watch:

Sacramento Kings vs. Memphis Grizzlies (11/16; 8:00 PM)

Sacramento Kings vs. Houston Rockets (11/17; 8:00 PM)

Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Sacramento Kings (11/19; 10:00 PM)

Sacramento Kings vs. Utah Jazz (11/21; 9:00 PM)

Nick: Drew Brees

Drew Brees did the Cincinnati Bengals so dirty that they went out and hired Hue Jackson to come in and help out. Maybe Hue is just there to coach against the Browns, but Hue is not the answer. I think it’s time we consider Brees for MVP. After a 22 for 25 performance, with 265 yards and 3 TDs, the Saints are now 8-1. Some tough games do remain (two versus the Panthers, one against Pittsburgh), but at this moment, I would say they are the strongest team in the NFC. Brees has thrown 21 TDs and only ONE (1) interception this season, as well as 2601 yards. He has a 123.8 passer rating, which would be the best for one season all-time, and unless your name is Nick Foles, the other players on that list tend to win the MVP (but at this moment, it is full of QBs from this season). If Brady can’t win a Super Bowl, I want another one for Drew.

When to Watch:

Philadelphia Eagles vs. New Orleans Saints (11/18; 4:25 PM)

Atlanta Falcons vs. New Orleans Saints (11/22; 8:20 PM)

Doing Bad

Fredy: Demaryius Thomas

Credit: via Yahoo Sports

Thomas is a good acquisition for the Houston Texans, but he’s had a pretty shit season so far. Going from Case Keenum to Deshaun Watson is an upgrade, but Thomas has been struggling since October 7th. He’s still learning the Texans offense but it doesn’t excuse his past 4 games averaging 47.5 yards per game and 3.5 catches per game.

When to Watch:

Houston Texans vs. Washington (11/18; 1:00 PM)

Andy: Leonard Fournette

Credit: Mike Lawrie/Getty Images North America

I know that he just came off a monster week last week against the Colts but this was Leonard Fournette’s first week back since week 4 and only his 3rd game played this season. He has struggled all year with his hamstring and mismanagement of his injury. Countless times trying to be rushed back. He seems to have finally gotten passed his injury, Fingers crossed. His next game is against a Steelers Defense that just let up 138 yards from scrimmage and 3 touchdowns to Christian Mccaffery last week and that was a game they won 51 to 21. It’s a juicy matchup Fournette will likely dominate, barring any setbacks on his hammy.

When to Watch:

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Jacksonville Jaguars (11/18; 1:00 PM)

Kerm: Gordon Hayward

Credit: Lance King/Getty Images North America

I’ll just leave this here

Credit: NBA Advanced Stats

When to Watch:

Toronto Raptors vs. Boston Celtics (11/16; 7:00 PM)

Utah Jazz vs. Boston Celtics (11/17; 7:30 PM)

Boston Celtics vs. Charlotte Hornets (11/19; 7:00 PM)

New York Knicks vs. Boston Celtics (11/21; 7:30 PM)

Nick: Jaylen Brown

Credit: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images North America

Jaylen finally seemed to break through against the Bulls this past Wednesday, but it does not constitute a full body of work. Jaylen was been asked to go from a top scoring option on this team, to fourth-in-line. With Hayward and Kyrie back, he has been getting less touches, which has led to Jaylen needing to learn how to adjust to his surroundings accordingly. Of the Celtics not named Hayward/Irving, Brown has struggled the most. I do not believe his performance against the Bulls was an outlier, but if it was, then he deserves to be here until further notice.

When to Watch:

Toronto Raptors vs. Boston Celtics (11/16; 7:00 PM)

Utah Jazz vs. Boston Celtics (11/17; 7:30 PM)

Boston Celtics vs. Charlotte Hornets (11/19; 7:00 PM)

New York Knicks vs. Boston Celtics (11/21; 7:30 PM)

The “Who to Watch” series drops every Friday, via Hold My Drink Sports